FINLAND 
The  Buffer-State  of  Europe 

 BV  

JOHANNES  HOVING,  M.  D.,  Ph.D.,  M.A. 


Authorized  Translation  by  F.  C.  DeWalsh,  Ph.  D. 


PREFACE 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  American  press,  formerly  so  liberal 
broad-minded,  has  lost  all  interest  in  the  small,  but  highly  educj 
countries  of  Europe  (with  the  exception,  of  course,  of  "31 
Little  Belgium"  and  "Brave  Little  Servia"),  and  in  their  stru 
for  freedom  and  independence.  This  attitude  on  the  part  of 
press  is  wholly  wrong. 

There  are  in  this  free  country  of  ours  so  many  people  who 
to,  and  should,  know  about  the  possible  outcome  of  the  pre 
war  for  the  small  European  nations.  For  this  reason  I  thir 
necessary  to  publish  one  of  the- papers  read  by  me  before  Sa 
navian,  Finnish  and  German  audiences  in  this  city.  Really  ne* 
and  educated  Americans,  I  trust,  will  be  interested  in  my  1 
resume  of  Finnish  history,  and  they  will  be  glad  to  learn  of  the 
ditions  actually  existing  in  Finland,  a  country  which  has  enj 
centuries  of  political  independence ;  a  country  with  a  standard  ed 
tional  system,  and  with  an  inborn  love  of  liberty. 

JOHANNES  HOVING. 

New  York  City,  April,  1915. 


FINLAND,  THE  BUFFER-STATE  OF  EUROPE, 


Although  it  may  seem  inappropriate  at  this  early  date  to  discuss 
the  terms  of  peace  which  will  end  the  present  war,  there  are,  never- 
theless, a  number  of  things  to  he  taken  into  consideration  to-day 
requiring  a  deeper  insight  into  the  actual  state  of  affairs,  than  it  is 
possible  to  obtain  within  a  short  space  of  time. 

In  this  connection  we  proceed  from  the  assumption  that  the 
central  powers  of  Europe  will  defeat  the  Allies,  for  if  this  should 
not  be  the  case  we  would,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  have  to  abandon 
all  thought  of  freedom,  justice  and  humanity  in  the  world.  If  bar- 
barous Russia,  ever-hypocritical  England  or  revengeful  France  were 
to  dictate  the  terms  of  peace,  the  consequences  would  be  incalcul- 
able.   But  that  shall  never  be. 

The  following  embodies  a  detailed  discussion  of  Russian  poli- 
cies with  special  reference  to  Finland  and  Scandinavia,  and  on  this 
basis  we  shall  attempt  to  show  how  important  it  is  for  Germany  to 
stop  Russia's  policy  of  expansion,  also  in  the  North,  and,  likewise, 
how  important  it  is  for  the  entire  Germanic  race  to  separate  Russia 
from  Europe  by  neutralized  states.  For,  unless  this  be  done,  the 
danger  of  Russia  breaking  the  peace  or  renewing  her  intrigues  is 
close  at  hand,  and  a  new  war  will  ensue  ere  long. 

The  only  country  powerful  and  strong  enough  to  check  Russia 
in  the  North  is  Germany.  We  understand,  of  course,  that  Sweden 
and  Norway  would  do  their  utmost  to  defend  and  protect  their 
independence,  and  if  Russia  were  to  attempt  an  invasion  of  these 
countries  she  would  certainly  meet  with  greater  resistance  than 
anticipated.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  obvious  that  the  Norse  lands, 
unaided,  are  unable  to  restrain  Russia,  and  they  cannot  count  upon 
assistance  from  any  other  country  but.  Germany.  Great  Britain, 
even  if  so  inclined,  will  not  be  strong  enough— especially  after  the 
present  war— to  fight  Russia  on  the  border-line  of  Europe.  And 
yet  it  is  a  matter  of  serious  consequence  to  England  if  Russia 
secures  an  open  port  at  the  Atlantic,  as  Russia  would  thus  be  enabled 
to  win  the  upper  hand  in  a  possible  decisive  struggle  between  Great 
Britain  and  herself — and  such  a  conflict  is  not  remote. 

Should  Finland  and  Norway  lose  all  of  the  great  and  important 
North  ?  - 

3 


Should  Finland  be  wiped  off  the  map? 

That  must  not  come!  Russia  herself  must  first  be  humbled— 
and  that  will  be. 


Looking  at  the  map  of  Northern  Europe  our  attention  is  drawn 
to  a  small  country  covering  an  area  of  about  144,000  square  miles, 
wedged  in  between  Sweden,  Norway  and  Russia.  Only  in  the  East 
it  has  an  open  frontier  toward  Russia ;  in  the  North  it  borders  on 
Sweden  and  Norway;  in  the  West  it  is  washed  by  the  waves  of  the 
Gulf  of  Bothnia  and  the  so-called  Aland,  Sea;  while  the  Gulf  of 
Finland  forms  its  southern  boundary. 

The  population  is  composed  of  ca.  3,000,000  Finns  of  Finnish, 
and  400,000  of  Swedish  origin. 

This  is  Finland. 

The  time  when  the  Finns  first  settled  in  Finland  has  not  as 
yet  been  definitely  fixed.  We  know  the  Finns  to  have  come  from 
the  East,  from  Asia,  and  we  are  almost  certain  as  to  their  Mon- 
golian origin ;  we  know  a  considerable  number  of  kindred  tribes 
living  in  Northern  Siberia,  viz.,  Syrjanes,  Votiaks,  Ostiaks,  etc. ; 
and  we  are  also  acquainted  with  the  Esthonians,  another  branch  of 
the  Finnish  family  located  in  the  Baltic  provinces,  south  of  the 
Gulf  of  Finland.  It  is  likewise  a  well  known  fact  that  the  Lapps, 
settled  in  the  north  of  Finland,  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  are  close 
relatives ;  but  the  time  when  all  of  these  people  began,  or  completed, 
their  westward  migration  has  not  been  fixed  historically. 

On  the  coast  of  Finland — West,  Southwest  and  South — we  find 
people  of  Swedish  descent,  who,  probably  in  the  course  of  many 
centuries,  emigrated  from  Sweden  to  Finland,  but  who  were  cer- 
tainly settled  there  prior  to  the  immigration  of  the  Finnish  Finns. 
These  two  races  have  absolutely  no  relation  to  each  other.  Genuine 
Finnish  speech  is  wholly  different  from  all  other  languages  (possibly 
with  the  exception  of  Magyar),  which  goes  to  show  that  the  Finns 
must  be  differentiated  from  all  other  people.  They  are  members 
of  the  Finno-Ugric  race. 

In  1157  Erie  the  Saint.  King  of  Sweden,  undertook  a  crusade 
to  Finland  for  the  purpose  of  converting  the  Finns,  and  this  first 
crusade  was  followed  by  others.  The  final  expedition,  under  the 
direction  of  Torgils  Knutsson,  took  the  Swedes  to  the  east  of 
Finland,  where  is  now  situated  the  City  of  Wiborg.  founded  by 

4 


Torgils  in  1249.  From  this  time  on  Finland  was  united  with 
Sweden,  and,  in  1581,  became  a  Grand  Duchy,  ruled  over  by  the 
second  son  of  Gustavus  Wasa,  Sweden's  great  king. 

Finland  was  given  the  same  liberal  constitution  which  had  boon 
adopted  by  Sweden,  and  a  close  friendship  linked  the  people  of  both 
countries  during  all  wars  between  Sweden  and  other  states. 

Even  at  this  time  (and  until  after  1809)  Finland  was  the  apple 
of  dissension  between  Sweden,  a  great  power,  and  Russia,  a  rising 
state ;  and  all  battles  for  possession  of  the  little  country  were 
fought  on  Finnish  soil. 

Under  Charles  XII  Sweden  was  for  the  first  time  defeated 
by  Russia.  By  the  peace  of  1720  the  south-eastermost  part  of 
Finland  was  ceded  to  Russia,  then  ruled  by  Feter  the  Great,  who 
had  plundered,  burned  and  almost  completely  ruined  the  whole 
country. 

In  two  subsequent  wars  between  Sweden  and  Russia  |  1741  to 
1743,  and  1788  to  1790),  the  latter  gained  only  little.  But,  finally, 
by  the  Tilsit  Agreement  (1807),  Napoleon  "presented"  Czar  Alex- 
ander I  of  Russia  with  the  whole  of  Finland,  his  object  being  the 
punishment  of  Gustavus  IV  of  Sweden  for  attempting  to  defy 
Napoleonic  power. 

By  the  same  peace  contract  Czar  Alexander  agreed  to  close 
Russian  ports  to  England,  and  Russia — so  it  is  claimed — prepared 
for  war  with  England,  without,  however,  having  any  ill  designs 
upon  Sweden.  This  is,  at  least,  what  Alexander  I  most  solemnly 
declared  to  the  Swedish  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg  on  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1808,  and  his  statement  was  repeated  to  the  King  of 
Sweden  by  the  Russian  Ambassador  at  Stockholm.  Nevertheless, 
Russian  troops  crossed  the  Swedish  border  on  that  very  day. 
Sweden,  then  weakened  by  internal  troubles  which  were  promoted 
by  Russian  and  British  gold,  lost  the  war,  and — by  the  peace  of 
Fredrikshamn  ( 1809) — ceded  Finland  to  Russia. 

The  Finnish  people  fought  with  traditional  bravery  to  escape 
separation  from  Sweden,  but  Sweden's  power  was  broken.  This 
struggle  has  been  immortalized  by  the  Finnish  poet,  Runeberg,  in 
"The  Songs  of  Ensign  Stahl,"  a  piece  of  poetry  which,  in  beauty 
of  conception  and  composition,  is  unsurpassed  by  any  other  litera- 
ture. Even  before  the  conclusion  of  peace  negotiations,  Alexander 
I  pledged  his  imperial  word  to  preserve  the  laws  and  constitution 

5 


of  his  new  subjects  in  Finland,  and  relying  upon  this  pledge  the 
States  assembled  in  the  Horgo  Diet  (1809),  took  the  oath  of  al- 
legiance to  the  Czar  of  Russia,  Grand  Duke  of  Finland.  In  1812, 
Alexander  I,  a  liberal  ruler  who  was  fond  of  his  subjects,  united 
the  eastern  portion  of  Finland,  which  had  previously  been  con- 
quered by  Peter  the  Great,  with  the  newly  acquired  Grand  Duchy, 
so  that  the  map  of  the  country  reassumed  the  appearance  which 
it  had  under  the  old  Swedish  regime. 

The  oath  taken  by  Alexander  I,  viz.,  to  respect  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  Finland,  was  also  sworn  to  by  his  successors: 
Nicholas  I;  Alexander  II;  Alexander  III;  and  Nicholas  II,  the 
present  Czar.  The  first  two  of  these  rulers  felt  in  duty  bound  to 
live  up  to  their  sacred  pledge. 

Under  Alexander  II  an  invigorating  breeze  of  liberalism  swept 
over  Russia  and  Finland.  He  it  was  who,  in  1863,  again  called 
together  the  Finnish  Diet.  His  assassination  by  the  bombs  of 
Nihilists  (  March  13,  1881)  terminated  the  entire  Russian  Reform- 
Period,  and — under  the  rule  of  Alexander  III — Pan-Slavism 
flourished.  The  Pan-Slavists  insist  that  all  Slavs  and  all  races 
conquered  by  them  be  welded  together  into  one  political  union,  in 
order  thus  to  make  the  "Holy  Russian  Empire"  powerful  enough 
to  subdue  all  other  races  and  countries.  The  methods  to  be  applied, 
and  the  time  required  for  accomplishing  this  purpose,  are  of  no 
consequence.  Russia  can  bide  her  time  until  that  lofty  aim  shall 
be  attained. 

The  present  Czar  is  the  willing  leader  of  the  Pan-Slavist 
Party.  Innumerable  times  in  the  twenty  years  of  his  rule  he  has 
broken  his  pledge  or  committed  perjury.  His  character  is  anything 
but  august.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  malicious,  implacable  and 
vindictive;  he  displays  a  mystic  faith  in  his  divine  mission;  and 
since  his  ascension  to  the  throne  he  has  availed  himself  of  all  means 
at  his  command  for  the  oppression  and  enslavement  of  his  subjects. 
To  believe  that  the  Czar  is  under  the  influence  of  a  so-called  "Party 
of  Grand  Dukes."  is  a  gross  error.  The  autocracy  of  Czar  Nicholas 
II  is  absolute. 

The  Finnish  people  have  proved  to  be  a  most  reliable  support 
of  Russia's  throne;  they  have  made  innumerable  sacrifices  when- 
ever Russia  was  at  war.  but  Finland  never  enjoyed  the  gratitude 
to  which  she  was  entitled  by  her  unswerving  loyalty.    The  radical 

6 


•  change  of  government  forced  upon  Finland  on  February  17,  1899, 
F  aroused  universal  indignation  in  the  entire  civilized  world.  The 
notorious  Bobriboff,  a  genuine,  though  shrewd,  barbarian,  was 
j   appointed  Governor-General  of  Finland  by  the  Czar.  Chicaneries 

iof  all  sorts  were  now  on  the  daily  calendar.  Homes  were  searched 
,by  masked  detectives,  even  at  night;  any  charge  was  welcomed  by 
the  Russified  police  and  gendarmes ;  and  a  considerable  number 
/of  respected  citizens  were  exiled. 

The  Finnish  army,  and  even  the  glorious  old  Finnish  Guard, 
were  disbanded ;  their  arms  and  colors  taken  to  Russia ;  and  their 
officers  discharged.    Barracks  built  with  Finnish  funds  were  filled 
r  with  Russian  soldiers.    All  .importation  of  arms  to  Finland  was 
prohibited  and  the  entire  nation  disarmed. 

Russians  familiar  with  the  Finnish  tongue  disguised  them- 
]  selves  as  peasants  and  made  propaganda  for  the  Russian  Govern- 
\  ment  in  the  rural  districts  of  the  country.    They  promised  the 
f  peasants  general  prosperity  and  the  distribution  of  the  property 
k  of  the  wealthy  as  soon  as  Russia  should  be  in  complete  control.  At 
j  the  same  time,  the  Russian  nationalist  press  urged  the  Government 
j,  to  continue  its  policy  of  violence  against  the  autonomy  of  Finland, 
j  supposed  to  be  guaranteed  by  the  oath  of  the  Russian  Czar.  But 
any  attack  upon  the  vicious  press  was  forbidden.   Finally,  Finland's 
1  politicians  were  arrested ;  locked  up  in  Russian  dungeons ;  or  exiled 
|  to  Siberia  or  the  interior  of  Russia.    Loyal  officials  and  judges 
were  discharged,  and  all  preparations  were  made  for  the  total 
subjection  of  Finland. 

The  Russian  Pan-Slavists  were  unable  to  bear  the  sight  of 
Finland's  splendid  finances  and  of  the  general  superiority  of  con- 
ditions existing  there.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Finland  has  its  own  laws,  its  own  government — 
the  Senate — and  that  the  Governor-General,  the  Czar's  represen- 
tative, is  merely  chairman  of  the  Senate.  Only  by  joint  action  of 
the  Grand  Duke  and  the  Diet  is  it  possible  to  amend  the  laws  of 
the  country. — A  custom  line  separates  Finland  from  Russia,  and 
(  Finland  has  its  own  monetary  standard,  viz:  Mark  (18c)  and 
Penni. — The  national  debt  is  insignificant;  the  interest  thereon  is 
low;  and  foreign  creditors  have  refused  to  exchange  Finnish  for 
Russian  government  bonds.  Moreover,  Russian  manufacturers 
have  protested  against  the  abolition  of  the  custom  line,  claiming 


that  such  action  would  ruin  Russian  industries.  The  Russian . 
authorities,  however,  compelled  Finland  to  pay  a  sort  of  indemnity, 
amounting  to  20,000,000  Marks  per  annum.  And  why  was  this 
done?  Because  the  authorities-the  Czar-will  no  longer  permit 
Finland  to  have  an  army  of  her  own.  The  Czar  fears  that  Finnish 
officers  and  men  (who  have  always  been  the  cream  of  the  entire 
Russian  army)  might  now  turn  against  him.  And  that  is  the  reason 
why  Finland  must  pay! 

\t  the  very  beginning  of  this  century  when  the  aforesaid  events 
took  place  under  Bobriboff's  regime,  hundreds  of  spies  were  sent 
to  Sweden  and  Norway  to  make  reliable  maps  of  bridges,  highways, 
etc.,  and  to  prepare  the  ground  for  a  blow  aimed  at  the  Scandinavian 
people.  But  the  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war  eliminated 
this  danger,  and  the  terrible  defeat  inflicted  upon  Russia  by  the 
Japanese  undermined  the  Nationalist  Party  of  Russia. 

This  war,  like  all  wars  waged  by  Russia,  was  caused  by  the 
machinations  of  a  clique  of  intrigrants  in  close  relation  to  the  Czar, 
who  wantonly  started  hostilities  against  Japan  in  order  to  reap 
financial  profits  from  the  occupation  of  Manchuria  and  Korea 
However,  Japan  proved  to  be  decisively  superior  to  the  Russians*, 
Russia's  navy  was  destroyed,  and  the  crushing  defeats  of  the  army 
revealed  the  utter  depravity  of  conditions  existing  in  the  Russian 
Empire. 

During  and  after  the  war,  political  murders  were  a  matter  of 
routine ;  Bobriboff,  Plewe,  Grand  Duke  Sergei  and  others  were  thus 
done  away  with.  When  the  war  was  over,  the  tension  all  over 
Russia  became  unbearable,  and  as  soon  as  the  people  realized  that 
all  reports  of  victories  were  invented,  they  gave  expression  to  their 
rage  by  the  great  strike  which  broke  out  in  the  autumn  of  190?. 
The  outcome  of  this  demonstration  was  that,  after  causing  a  large 
number  of  people  in  the  streets  of  St.  Petersburg  to  be  shot.  th£ 
cowardly  Czar  granted  Russia  a  parliament,  the  Duma,  and  declared 
himself  a  constitutional  Monarch  with  limited  power,  at  the  same 
time  pledging  himself  hereafter  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the 
Duma  in  a  various  number  of  questions.  Russia  now  firmly  believe*] 
in  the  transformation  of  the  "Autocrat  of  all  the  Russians"  into 
constitutional  Monarch. 


8 


1 


In  Finland,  also,  a  general  strike  broke  out.  Prince  Obolensky, 
the  Governor-General,  was  removed  from  office ;  the  Constitution 
amended;  the  old  Diet  of  four  orders  (representing  nobles,  clergy, 
burghers  and  peasants)  was  superseded  by  a  single  chamber;  pro- 
portional universal  suffrage  was  introduced;  all  unlawfully  dis- 
charged officials  were  reappointed;  the  police  department  was  re- 
organized ;  and  the  gendarmes  were  forced  to  leave  the  country. 
Censorship  was  abolished.  Finland  was  given  a  new  government 
headed  by  the  foremost  men  in  the  land,  and  a  constitution,  more 
liberal  than  that  of  any  other  country,  was  adopted,  while — in 
Russia — assembled  the  first  Parliament  chosen  in  accordance  with 
a  new  and  liberal  election  law. 

But  the  time  of  rejoicing  was  not  long.  Soon  after  the  retire- 
ment of  the  exceedingly  liberal-minded  Count  Witte,  the  Czar 
appointed  as  his  new  Prime  Minister  the  notorious  Stolypin.  Stoly- 
pin's  regime  was  barbarous:  He  persecuted  the  liberals,  removed 
them  from  office  in  utter  disregard  of  the  law,  and  sent  them  to 
prison.  New  election  laws  were  now  drawn  up  by  the  Czar  and 
bis  accomplices,  limiting  the  rules  of  the  people  and  practically 
leaving  them  at  the  mercy  of  unscrupulous  agents  of  State  and 
Church.  A  great  many  were  sentenced  to  be  shot ;  others  ended 
on  the  gallows;  prisoners  were  tortured;  political  suspects  exiled 
to  Siberia;  and  Jewish  massacres  were  on  the  daily  program.  A 
new  reaction,  mightier  than  ever  before,  now  started  in  Russia. 
And  the  Czar  diverted  himself  reading  the  Police  Journal,  printed 
daily  for  his  exclusive  use  and  giving  a  classified  list  of  executions 
which,  under  Stolypin's  regime,  were  more  frequent  in  Russia 
than  during  the  entire  period  of  bloodshed  known  as  the  French 
Revolution. 

A  great  change  was  now  again  inaugurated  in  Finnish  affairs. 
Since  1908,  M.  Seyn,  the  most  fanatic  representative  of  the  "Sys- 
tem," has  been  Governor-General,  with  practically  almost  unlimited 
power.  There  he  rules  in  the  genuine  Russian  style  (although  he 
is  a  Lutheran  of  German  descent),  deposing  judges  and  public 
officials ;  and  imprisoning,  or  sending  to  Siberia,  government  of- 
ficers, mayors  and  counselors.  In  1913,  all  members  of  the  Wiborg 
Supreme  Court  were  sentenced  to  eight  months  imprisonment  and" 
transferred  to  penal  institutions  in  Russia,  where  they  received 
worse  treatment  than  the  lowest  criminals.    The  charge  against 

9 


-these  judges  was  their  refusal— in  accordance  with  their  oath  of 
office— to  apply  the  illegal  Russian  Unity  Code,  and  their  strict 
adherence  to  Finnish  law  which  the  Czar,  as  Grand  Duke  of  Fin- 
land, had  sworn  to  respect.  Without  much  ado  these  loyal  jurists 
submitted  to  their  unlawful  punishment,  conscious  of  suffering  for 
the  good  cause,  and  hoping  for  better  times,  when  their  patriotism 
would  be  duly  appreciated. 

While  the  persecution  of  officials  and  private  citizens  of  Fin- 
land was  carried  on  in  this  manner,  new  baracks  were  built  for 
Russian  soldiers  in  all  railroad  centres  and  on  the  northwestern 
border  against  Sweden,  and  all  preparations  for  sending  a  few 
hundred  thousand  men  to  the  Swedish  frontier  at  a  moment's 
notice  were  completed.  New  forts  along  the  shore  of  the  Gulf 
of  Finland  have  been  constructed,  and  many  hundred  million 
roubles  have  been  expended  upon  additions  to  the  Baltic  fleet. 

Both  the  Russian  Ambassador  at  Stockholm  and  his  military 
attache,  who  controlled  the  Russian  spy  system  in  Sweden,  worked 
so  brazenly  that  it  became  necessary  to  recall  them  a  year  ago,  the 
fact  that  spies  in  Sweden,  Norway  and  Denmark  were  in  the  pay 
of  these  diplomatic  officers  being  proven  beyond  doubt.  Pro- 
ceedings in  the  courts  of  Sweden  disclosed  an  extensive  organiza- 
tion of  espionage.  The  result  of  the  Russian  envoy's  underhanded 
work  is  now  to  be  had  in  print:  A  manual  for  Russian  army  men 
containing  a  Swedish  vocabulary  for  use  in  war:  most  carefully 
elaborated  maps  of  Norland  and  of  the  entire  Swedish  coast;  a 
multitude  of  explanatory  notes  on  Swedish  military  conditions,  etc., 
etc.  There  can  therefore  be  no  doubt  but  what  the  Ambassador 
was  the  chief  of  the  spy  system  in  Sweden — and  this  may  be  a 
warning  to  other  nations. 

Norway  and  Denmark,  also,  have  not  been  spared.  In  the 
-northern  part  of  Norway  tramping  Russian  saw-grinders,  provided 
with  maps  of  the  country  and  well  versed  with  Norwegian  con- 
ditions, were  found,  and,  in  Denmark,  a  spy  central  was  trapped 
a  year  ago.  the  wires  of  which  established  direct  connection  with 
Russia,  but  also  with  Sweden  and  Norway. 

What,  now,  was  the  cause  of  Russia's  anti-Finnish  policy  in 
1913  and  1914?    There  was  no  uprising  of  any  sort  in  Finland 
which  might  have  justified  this  action  on  the  part  oft  Russia,  nor 
-could  there  be  any  anticipation  of  trouble,  since  the  people  had  lon°- 

10 


since  been  disarmed  and,  for  a  whole  century,  had  proved  abso- 
lutely loyal  to  Russia. 

And  what  was  Russia's  object  in  sending  her  secret  detective- 
corps  to  Sweden,  Norway  and  Denmark? 

All  these  were  mere-  preparatory  measures  for  what  was  yet 
to  come  as  soon  as  Russian  armaments  would  be  completed,  viz., 
an  attack  upon  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula,  with  the  purpose  of 
'reaching  the  ice-free  Atlantic — in  accordance  with  the  last  will  and 
testament  of  Peter  the  Great. 

The  Russian  fleet  is  cut  off  from  the  ocean  by  the  Danish  Belts 
in  the  north  and  by  the  Turkish  Dardanelles  in  the  south ;  since 
the  war  with  Japan,  Russia  no  longer  has  any  ice-free  port  in  the 
Pacific.  Tbe  only  ice-free  port  she  still  holds  is  way  up  North, 
near  the  Norwegian  border,  on  the  so-called  Murmanian  coast. 
But  while  the  Russians  are  now  busily  engaged  in  extending  their 
railroad  system  to  that  point,  connection  has  not  yet  been  fully 
established.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  evident  that  ONE  ice-free 
port  does  not  meet  the  recpiirements  of  this  vast  Empire. 

Whenever  Russian  diplomats  prepare  to  strike  at  anyone,  it  is 
their  practice  to  deceive  and  throw  the  enemy  off  his  guard  by 
most  insincere  assurances  of  friendship.  So  the  well-known  mesal- 
iance  of  Princess  Maria  in  Sweden  was  used  by  them  for  the 
purpose  of  entering  into  commercial  relations  with  Swedish  firms 
which  were  coaxed  into  business  transactions.  These  connections 
enabled  the  Russians  to  take  closer  aim  at  Sweden,  while — in  con- 
formity with  their  practice — they  had  the  chauvinistic  press  toot 
the  horn  of  Russian  friendship  for  Sweden  and  explain  "at  length 
that  an  attack  upon  that  country  was  by  no  means  to  Russia's  in- 
terest. We  are  aware  of  the  effect  all  this  has  had  in  Sweden  ;  we 
have  read  of  30,000  Swedish  peasants  making  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
Royal  . Palace  last  year,  and  of  three-fourths  of  the  entire  Swedish 
student  body,  on  their  own  initiative,  appearing  before  the  Monarch 
a  few  days  later,  to  assure  him  of  their  loyalty.  These  two  demon- 
strations are  probably  unique  in  history.  We  do  not  know  of  any 
analogous  case  where  a  nation  voluntarily  informed  their  ruler 
of  their  desire  to  pay  higher  taxes  for  the  maintenance  of  the  army, 
-requesting  him  at  the  same  time  to  lengthen  the  term  of  military 
service  so  as  to  increase  the  country's 'defensive  efficiency,  and  to 
uphold  its  traditional  ideals  of  liberty.    The  patriotism  and  en- 

11 


thusiasm  evinced  by  the  Swedish  people  in  this  demonstration  can  ^ 
be  compared  only  with  the  glorious  German  spirit  which  moulded 
the  whole  nation  together  into  one  great  family  when  the  present 
war  broke  out. 

In  times  of  stress  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Russian  Government 
to  promise  reforms  and  the  extension  of  privileges,  and  to  revoke 
these  promises  again  as  soon  as  the  difficulties  are  overcome  and.  f 
the  Czar  feels  safe.    In  view  of  this  policy  we  should  expect  the- 
present  war  to  have  caused  the  Governor-General  of  Finland  to 
treat  the  Finns  with  leniency  and  to  relieve  the  strained  relations. 
And  yet,  the  war  has  in  no  way  altered  Russia's  official  attitude 
toward  Finland.    The  Governor-General  issued  no  proclamation  t 
to  the  Finnish  people,  as  the  Czar  to  his  "Beloved  Jews"  and  for 
"The  Independence  of  Poland"  (both  of  which,  of  course,  later- 
proved  to  be  deceptions).   On  the  contrary,  General  Seyn  not  only 
removed  Judge  Svinhufrud,  the  highly  esteemed  president  of  the^ 
Assembly,  from  his  place  on  the  bench,  but  exiled  him  to  the 
remotest  and  climatically  most  unfavorable  part  of  Siberia.  There 
the  unfortunate  man,  voluntarily  accompanied  by  his  wife,  will  r 
either  succumb  to  his  heart  disease,  or,  should  he  have  the  good: 
fortune  to  be  recalled,  he  will  return  to  Finland  a  hopeless  invalid.- 
He  is  one  of  a  number  of  prominent  Finns  who  were  exiled  or 
imprisoned. 

The  only  possible  explanation  for  such  a  method  of  procedure 
is  that  Russia  was  convinced  that  Sweden  would  take  the  part  of 
Germany.  This  is  also  the  reason  why  a  large  Russian  army  was 
stationed  in  Finland  in  the  early  stage  of  the  war.  But  although 
Sweden  is  quite  pro-German,  she  could  and  would  not  enter  into 
the  conflict,  and — in  our  opinion — Sweden  rendered  Germany  and  * 
the  German  cause  a  much  greater  service  by  remaining  neutral  than 
if  she  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  war.  When  the  war  began, 
Scandanavian  public  opinion  with  regard  to  Germany's  ability  to 
endure  this  tremendous  struggle  was;  very  much  divided,  and  the 
possibility  of  an  ultimate  German  victory  was  hardly  considered. 
Great  Britain's  piracy  and  her  practice  of  stealing  ships  were  well 
known,  and  since  the  wealth  of  Denmark  and,  especially,  of  Norway, 
was  for  the  most  part  invested  in  vessels  and  sea  trade,  it  would* 
have  been  an  easy  matter  for  England  to  ruin  the  foreign'  com-  ^ 
merce  of  these  countries.  ^ 

12 


In  addition  to  this  consideration  comes  the  fact  that  Danish 
sympathies  were,  and  still  are,  divided.  Denmark,  wedged  in  be- 
tween Sweden  and  Germany,  might,  therefore,  have  joined  the 
Allies,  which  would  have  made  things  more  complicated. 

Nq  matter,  then,  from  which  point  of  view  we  may  survey 
the  situation,  Sweden  made  a  wise  move  in  remaining  neutral. 

Denmark  was  saved  by  the  meeting  of  the  Scandinavian  rulers 
at  Malmo,  in  December,  1914,  and  if  Russia  should  now  attack 
Sweden  and  Norway,  Denmark  would  certainly  side  with  her 
Norse  friends. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  frequently  expressed  opinion  that 
Sweden  zvould  welcome  a  chance  to  regain  Finland  is  as  absurd 
as  to  say  that  Finland  is  anxious  to  be  reunited  with  Sweden  :  The 
latter  is  entirely  out  of  the  question. 


For  the  first  time  in  the  twenty  years  of  his  rule  the  Czar  has 
now  gone  to  Finland  with  the  illegal  object  of  pressing  new  soldiers 
into  service,  although  he  must  be  well  aware  that  the  sympathies 
of  the  Finnish  people  cannot  possibly  be  with  the  Russia  of  today. 

The  weakness  and  low  character  of  the  entire  Pan-Slavistic 
regime  in  Russia,  and  the  inefficient  organization  of  the  vast  Rus- 
sian forces  have  been,  demonstrated  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
by  both  German  and  Austro-Hungarian  troops  and  their  generals 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  really  well-meaning  and  liberal- 
minded  people  throughout  the  world.  In  spite  of  this  we  read 
day  after  day  the  "Petrograd"  reports  of  victories.  But  anyone 
familiar  with  the  actual  conditions  knows  that  all  this  new^  is 
fictitious;  that  Russian  politics  are  traditionally  based  upon  fraud; 
and  that  the  country's  finances,  military  system  and  staff  of  public 
officers  are  rotten  to  the  core.  Only  the  vast  millions  of  inhab- 
itants of  Russia,  still  subservient  to  the  "Knout"  of  the  Czar  and 
his  abettors,  have  enabled  the  government  to  put  armies  in  the 
field.  But  woe  to  the  authorities  when  the  people  learn  that  they 
have  been  deceived !  They  will  then  wreak  vengeance  and  proceed 
in  their  own  country  with  the  same  barbarism  and  bestiality  which 
the  Cossacks,  soldiers  and  officers,  practiced  in  East  Prussia  in 
the  course  of  this  war.  The  Russian  mob  will  destroy,  burn  and 
annihilate  everything;  nothing  will  escape  their  fury. 

13 


The  bloodshed  of  the  coming  revolution  in  Russia  wtll  be  the 
m0St  appalling  m  history;  and  Russian  hatred  for  foreigners- 
Europeans  and  Americans-will  be  most  bitterly  expressed. 

No  matter  how  long  it  may  take  Germany,  Austria-Hungary 
and  Turkey  decisively  to  defeat  the  Russian  armies  in  this  great  - 
conflict  one  thing  is  certain:  Conditions  in  Russia  will  undergo  a  . 
tremendous  change  after  the  conclusion  of  peace.  It  is  doubtful, 
to  say  the  least,  whether  the  present  Czar,  the  Grand  Ducal  Com- 
mander-in-Chief and  the  remaining  members  of  the  Romanort 
dynasty,  will  have  any  . voice  in  the  affairs  of  state  after  the  Revolu- 
tion. Moreover,  it  is  always  impossible  to  know  beforehand  which 
party  will  prove  the  strongest,  but  the  most  radical,  as  always  in 
the  case  of  revolutions,  stands  the  best  chance  to  win. 

However  this  may  be,  the  Pan-Slavistic  movement  is  bound  to 
outlive  the  present  war,  and  so  long  as  it  exists  it  will  continue  to 
threaten  Europe.  The  sole  possibility  of  checking  and  suppressing 
this  movement  for  decades  to  come  is  to  separate  Russia's  ivesterit 
border  from  Europe  by  neutral  states.  The  danger  to  which 
Sweden  and  Norway  are  exposed  so  long  as  their  territories  border 
on  Russia,  can  be  removed  only  by  making  the  present  Grand  Duchy 
of  Finland  a  neutral  state.  By  doing  so,  i.e.,  by  creating  a;  state^ 
whose  neutrality  is  guaranteed  by  all  powers,  and'  which  is  left 
to  shift  for  itself,  the  danger  of  Russia  securing  an  Atlantic  port 
will  be  eliminated.  And  this  would  not  be  wholly  a  matter  of  in- 
difference to  Germany  since,  in  possession  of  such  a  port,  it  would, 
be  possible  for  Russia  not  only  to  menace  Scandinavia,  but  also  the 
German  North  Sea  coast. 

The  views  of  leading  Finnish  statesmen  on  this  question  can- 
not be  learned  just  now  as  the  few  Finnish  newspapers  whose  publi- 
cation has  not  been  stopped  are  not  permitted  to  be  sent  abroad, 
and  all  letters  are  opened  before  leaving  the  country. 

We  know  that  the  two  races  inhabiting  Finland  may  be  divided 
in  their  opinion  as  to  certain  points,  but  both  have  proven  their, 
intense  patriotism  on  all  possible  occasions,  and  both  are  prepared 
to  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  for  Finnish  liberty.  Very  few  have 
any  objection  to  the  Russian  people,  but  the  Russian  people  has 
as  yet  nothing  to  say. 

It  is  true,  unfortunately,  that  a  small  fraction  of  the  Finnish 
population  has  been  bought  by  Russian  gold,  but  these  few  will  fight 

14 


in  vain  against  a  neutral  independence  of  Finland.  All  inhabitants' 
of  the  country  are,  and  always  have  been,  loyal ;  but,  in  the  past 
twenty  years,  their  loyalty  to  Russia's  autocratic  rule  has  been  so 
sorely  tried  that  they  would  surely  forsake  the  Russian  cause  if  there 
were  an  opportunity. 

This  matter  is  now  being  considered  in  Germany,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  efforts  of  its  very  influential  supporters  will  be  suc- 
cessful. 

To  base  hopeful  expectations  upon  the  Franco-British  allies  is 
a  serious  mistake.  The  governments  of  these  so-called  "liberal 
minded  champions  of  freedom"  have  never  done  anything  for  other 
countries.  On  the  contrary,  it  has  been  British  policy  to  conquer 
and  suppress  smaller  and  weaker  nations  whenever  the  opportunity 
presented  itself,  and  French  love  of  liberty — once  renowned  through- 
out the  world — cannot  be  relied  upon  to-day. 

Before  a  permanent  international  peace  can  be  established,  quite 
a  number  of  crimes  and  errors  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  last 
few  centuries  must  be  set  aright,  and  non-related  races  must  again 
be  separated.  Finland  should  be  no  exception  to  this  rule. 

There  are  many  races  which  have  lived  side  by  side  for  cen- 
turies without  amalgamating.  They  have  preserved  their  own 
language,  and  they  possess  an  ancient  civilization  as  well  as  interests 
of  their  own.  All,  or  at  least  the  large  majority  of  these,  should  be 
segregated  from  their  neighbors.  If,  therefore,  the  terms  of  peace 
putting  a  stop  to  the  present  world  conflagration  include  a  radical' 
alteration  of  the  map  of  Europe,  they  will  be  a  blessing  to  all  man- 
kind. 


15 


Published  and  distributed 
by  the 

.German-American  Literary  Defense  Committee, 
150  Nassau  Street,  New  York. 


